A RARE GILT-LACQUER BRONZE FIGURE OF KUIXING DALI KINGDOM, 12TH CENTURY |

cast in a characteristically vigorous pose, holding a writing brush in the raised, proper right hand and an ingot in the left, the raised foot balancing a dou vessel from which etends a celestial constellation, the head with wild, spiked tufts of hair, above a fierce expression formed from fleshy facial features, the writhing body outfitted in celestial sashes and a garment with diaper-patterned panels, the immortal perched on the back of a dragon-fish emerging from turbulent waves, all raised on a bracket base (2)

One of the stars on the detachable constellation has been re-soldered. The figure in overall good condition with expected wear and losses to the gilt lacquer. There is a small corroded hole to one foot of the stand.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Daoist figures from the Dali Kingdom are exceedingly rare, as Buddhism was the official state religion. The Dali Kingdom arose from the unified ashes of the Nanzhao Kingdom (738-937), which had outlawed Daoism by the 9th century. Out of the Meng family rulers, King Fengyou (r. 823-59) was the most demonstrative of his faith, erecting the Chongsheng Temple complex and commissioning thousands of Buddhist statues in the kingdom’s capital. Despite the earlier proscription of Daoism, however, the Dali Kingdom was in fact quite diverse in its ethnic and religious composition. The Bai people had practiced shamanism prior to their introduction to Buddhism, and ‘Theravada certainly was from Upper Burma, Mahayana was from China, and Mijiao in Yunnan was from Tibet. Furthermore, Nestorianism and Islam arrived in Yunnan from the north, as did…Confucianism and Daoism’ as Bin Yang notes in ‘Horses, Silver, and Cowries: Yunnan in Global Perspective’, Journal of World History, vol. 15, no. 3, September 2004, p.317. The Nanzhao regions were originally a cluster of tribes in western Yunnan, and not unified until Meng Piluoge was recognized as ruler in 738. His son, King Geluofeng (r. 748-79), fortified the country against Chinese invasion by allying his country with Tibet. The grandson of Geluofeng, Yimouxun (r. 779-808), implemented a drastically different political strategy, breaking ties with the Tibetans and pledging allegiance to the Tang emperor. According to Angela F. Howard, ‘A Gilt Bronze Guanyin from the Nanzhao Kingdom of Yunnan: Hybrid Art from the Southwestern Frontier’, The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery, vol. 48, 1990, p. 8, the royal family and nobility were subsequently educated in Chengdu, one of the most prosperous and sophisticated cities in China during the Tang dynasty.

The Qingyang Gong, a vast and important Daoist temple complex in Chengdu, was erected in the 9th century, suggesting the strength of the religion in Sichuan at the time. The ambitious young elites of the Meng family and other Nanzhao nobility were likely influenced by the strongly Daoist surroundings, and the worship of Wenchang, the god of letters and scholars, seems especially appropriate given that they were sent to Chengdu to study. Wenchang's celebrated acolyte Kuixing, often depicted brandishing a brush and holding a vessel to measure a scholar's worth, would have been a popular subject of art and veneration.

Compare the face and physicality of the present figure with that of a Yunnan bronze figure of a wrathful guardian attributed to the 10th to mid-13th century, now at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, obj. no. 1994.23. A gilt-bronze Daoist figure attributed to the Dali Kingdom, 13th/14th century, was offered in these rooms, 20th March 2002, lot 279.  Another gilt-lacquered bronze figure attributed to the Dali Kingdom, 10th-13th century, of the deity Avalokiteshvara and from the Fong Chow Collection, was sold at Christie’s New York, 21st March 2013, lot 1191.

The dating of this lot is consistent with its Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test result, no. C118j38.